Chapter 106 : Chapter 106

Chapter 106. I Am Not a Saint, and I Will Not Forgive You Because of Your Difficulties

(A lot of people said the previous chapter was trying to whitewash them, but it really was not. It was simply a normal emotional response from the character. If you do not believe it, then read this chapter.)

Two days later, at the training base.

“Brother Yichen, hurry up and come to loot the drops. They’re all dead.”

In the office, Su Linyu, dressed in an adorable pink outfit, sat beside Jiang Yichen with her phone in hand.

“Coming, coming.”

Jiang Yichen nodded and maneuvered his character on the phone, following behind Su Linyu as he greedily scooped up loot.

Back in high school in his previous life, when he first got into games, all he had thought about was how to hone his skills until they were flawless.

But now, with a fiancée whose skills were practically godlike, all he had to do was coast along behind her, pick up easy kills, and loot to his heart’s content. It truly felt wonderful.

When the match ended, Jiang Yichen still wanted more.

“One more round.”

“Brother Yichen, didn’t you say this would be the last one?”

Su Linyu looked troubled as she said, “There are only eight days left until the finals. I have to train with everything I have so I can win the league championship for you, Brother Yichen.”

“After the finals are over, I’ll play games with you every day, all right?”

Hearing the pleading tone in her voice, Jiang Yichen froze slightly. A moment later, he felt a little ashamed and put his phone down.

I really am awful. I always look at things only from my own perspective.

With a major battle just around the corner, the fact that Su Linyu was still willing to spend time gaming with him was already more than enough.

And on top of that, she was training for his sake, to win the league championship for him.

I have to keep reminding myself not to take this for granted, Jiang Yichen thought.

“All right then. After training, I’ll take you out to dinner as a reward,” he said with a smile.

Su Linyu immediately lit up with delight.

Dinner? A candlelit dinner?

Wow! Brother Yichen was so romantic.

“Mm-hm! I’ll train even harder then,” Su Linyu said at once, suddenly bursting with motivation.

“Uh...” Jiang Yichen’s mouth twitched. I only said dinner. It’s the most ordinary thing in the world. Why are you reacting like you just struck the jackpot?

Su Linyu was just about to skip out of the office when there was a knock at the door. Lei Zhen and Sleep God were standing outside.

“Boss...” Lei Zhen glanced behind him. “Someone’s here to see you.”

Jiang Yichen frowned and spread out his perception, sensing Zhu He, Huang Lu, and the others in the corridor one by one.

“Let them in.”

Lei Zhen and Sleep God immediately let out a sigh of relief and ushered the Phoenix Team and the Thunder Team into the office.

Su Linyu sized them up curiously and did not leave right away.

Seated in his office chair, Jiang Yichen gazed at the Phoenix Team and the Thunder Team expressionlessly and spoke in a cold voice. “What is it?”

He looked worn and haggard, his eyes full of guilt. He hesitated several times before finally speaking.

“Boss, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stirred up the Thunder Team to leave and stand against you.”

Huang Lu lowered her head, half-lidding her eyes in shame. “Boss, I... at the time, I wanted the championship so badly that I forgot the four years you spent nurturing me. I’m sorry.”

The team members behind them also apologized to him in unison.

Lei Zhen and Sleep God exchanged a glance and smiled.

Their boss was actually a very good man.

When he founded the Phoenix Team and the Thunder Team, he had been attentive to every single member, learning about their pasts and talking with them sincerely.

He knew that Huang Lu was fiercely competitive, so he made her captain of the Phoenix Team.

He knew Zhu He’s difficulties, so in order to let him train without worry, he paid for his mother’s life-saving treatment.

Now that the Phoenix Team and the Thunder Team had done something wrong, as long as they apologized properly to the Boss, returning to the team should not be too difficult...

“Here to apologize?” Jiang Yichen let out a cold laugh. “Do you think I’m a saint?”

Everyone froze.

A heavy silence fell over the office, and the oppressive atmosphere spread.

Jiang Yichen looked at them and slowly said, “Zhu He, I gave your mother hope of living. But what about you?”

“Not only did you choose to leave, you even joined the camp of my cousin, who was competing with me for the inheritance. And you still have the face to come see me?”

“And you, Huang Lu. Your family background isn’t bad, yet you insist on taking first place in everything. Fine. For four years, I gave you the best resources, made you captain, and carefully nurtured you.”

“But in the end, because I let the Yanhuang Team win, you came to hate me and turned against me?”

Jiang Yichen shook his head and smiled faintly. “Go back. I do not accept apologies from traitors. And I am certainly not some saint who will forgive you because of your hardships.”

Every single word he spoke was like a blade driven into the hearts of the Phoenix Team and the Thunder Team.

Jiang Yichen slowly rose to his feet and walked past the two teams.

In his previous life, he had forgiven too many people. And in the end, all he had gotten in return was betrayal.

He would not give ingrates like these another chance.

Su Linyu glanced at the stiff, motionless crowd. There was not the slightest trace of sympathy in her eyes. Then she stepped forward and followed Brother Yichen out of the office.

Tears gathered in the corners of Zhu He’s and Huang Lu’s eyes as they laughed bitterly at themselves.

Had they not brought all of this upon themselves?

How had they ever dared to beg the Boss for forgiveness?

The Phoenix Team and the Thunder Team remained standing in the office for a long time, unable to move.

The more resolute they had been when they chose to leave, the greater their regret and guilt now became.

Lei Zhen and Sleep God sighed.

“Captain, let’s go back,” Sleep God said as he looked at Huang Lu with a helpless smile.

This was as much as he could do for her.

Huang Lu’s gaze was complicated, but she still gave a slight nod and turned to leave with her team members.

Lei Zhen, meanwhile, looked at his former teammates and asked after a moment of silence, “The Thunder Team has disbanded. What are your plans from here on out?”

“Captain, I’m planning to find work as a martial artist.”

“Me too. I regret that I couldn’t win the league championship carrying the Thunder Team name... but I brought this on myself.”

“Captain, I hope you win the league championship. That was our promise four years ago.”

“...”

Only when people learn to repent do they understand how foolish their earlier decisions truly were.

Lei Zhen nodded and looked at Zhu He. “What about you?”

“I’ll join the military. I don’t have the face to stay in the Central China region anymore, and my mother’s illness still needs money...”

Zhu He’s eyes were full of regret as he looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

Lei Zhen stepped forward and patted his teammate on the shoulder. “As your captain, let me see you off one last time.”

Together with Sleep God, he escorted the Thunder Team out of the training base.

Meanwhile, at the training ground—

【Ding! A slacking choice has been triggered.】

【Choice One: Faced with the collective apology of the Phoenix Team and the Thunder Team, you choose to forgive them out of old sentiment. Reward: the title ‘Mr. Forgiveness.’

Choice Two: Traitors are not worthy of forgiveness. Reject their apology outright, refuse the mental drain of inner turmoil, maintain a cheerful mood, and enjoy life. Reward: ‘Intermediate Slacking Gift Pack.’】

【Ding! Congratulations, Host, for making a slacking choice. Reward: ‘Intermediate Slacking Gift Pack.’ Would you like to open it?】

Good grief. It triggered late again.

Jiang Yichen was speechless. He did not choose to open it. The last Intermediate Gift Pack had produced a Supreme-grade reward.

This one probably would not yield anything special anyway. Better to save it as a buffer before opening a high-level gift pack.

“Brother Yichen, you were so commanding just now. You were so attractive!”

At that moment, Su Linyu, who was walking beside him, looked at him and praised him openly.

Jiang Yichen smiled faintly and deliberately asked, “You don’t think I’m cold-blooded and heartless?”

“Of course not. They were the ones who betrayed you first, Brother Yichen. They shouldn’t be forgiven at all.”

Su Linyu said indignantly, “If it were me, I would never betray you, Brother Yichen. Even if I had to suffer all kinds of grievances, I still wouldn’t!”

Her tone was utterly resolute.

Jiang Yichen believed her completely.

In his previous life, Su Linyu had spent her entire life circling around him alone.

She had endured pressure from her family, the mockery of the world, and even his own coldness, yet she still chose him unwaveringly. She had never changed.

Where Su Linyu was concerned, the warrior of pure devotion had never once fallen.

Jiang Yichen reached out and pinched her soft little cheek.

In this life, he would not let pure devotion fall either.